March 19, 2013

On March 6, 2013, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a news release announcing
its 2013 agenda to bring down costs and improve quality of care through
implementation of health information technology. Specifically, the new release introduced
HHS’s latest plan to “accelerate health information exchange (HIE) and build a
seamless and secure flow of information essential to transforming the health
care system.” In the release, HHS
indicated it will, among other things:

Set
aggressive goals for 2013: HHS is setting the goal of having 50
percent of physician offices using electronic health records (EHRs) and 80
percent of eligible hospitals receiving meaningful use incentive payments by
the end of 2013.

Increase
the emphasis on interoperability: HHS will increase its
emphasis on ensuring electronic exchange across providers. It has started that effort by issuing a
request for information (RFI) seeking public input about a variety of policies
that will strengthen the business case for electronic exchange across providers
to ensure patients’ health information will follow them seamlessly and securely
wherever they access care.

Enhance
the effective use of electronic health records through initiatives like the
Blue Button initiative.
Medicare beneficiaries can access their full Medicare records online
today. HHS is working with the Veterans Administration and more than 450
different organizations to make health care information available to patients
and health plan members. HHS is also
encouraging Medicare Advantage plans to expand the use of Blue Button to
provide beneficiaries with one-click secure access to their health information.

Implement
Meaningful Use Stage 2:
HHS is implementing rules that define what data must be able to be
exchanged between Health IT systems, including how data will be structured and
coded so that providers will have one uniform way to format and securely send
data.

In its Request For Information (RFI), HHS requested feedback from the public on various
ways to accelerate electronic HIE. One
of the RFI’s focus areas is consumer and patient engagement. According to the RFI, “CMS wants to encourage
beneficiary engagement in their care through improved beneficiary access to
their personal health information and better electronic communication between
beneficiaries and their health care team. There are several ways CMS could
encourage beneficiary access to their information through the use of new
measures or patient-reported care experiences, new technology tools, and new
financial models.” The specific options
that CMS holds out as examples in the RFI are:

Payment and
service delivery model testing under the Affordable Care Act, such as
demonstration of incentives for consumers to more actively participate in
their health; and

Direct access to
lab results from laboratories.

CMS posed the following
specific question in the RFI: “What CMS and ONC policies and programs
would most impact patient access and use of their electronic health information
in the management of their care and health? How should CMS and ONC develop,
refine and/or implement policies and program to maximize beneficiary access to
their health information and engagement in their care?”

Comments

On March 6, 2013, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a news release announcing
its 2013 agenda to bring down costs and improve quality of care through
implementation of health information technology. Specifically, the new release introduced
HHS’s latest plan to “accelerate health information exchange (HIE) and build a
seamless and secure flow of information essential to transforming the health
care system.” In the release, HHS
indicated it will, among other things:

Set
aggressive goals for 2013: HHS is setting the goal of having 50
percent of physician offices using electronic health records (EHRs) and 80
percent of eligible hospitals receiving meaningful use incentive payments by
the end of 2013.

Increase
the emphasis on interoperability: HHS will increase its
emphasis on ensuring electronic exchange across providers. It has started that effort by issuing a
request for information (RFI) seeking public input about a variety of policies
that will strengthen the business case for electronic exchange across providers
to ensure patients’ health information will follow them seamlessly and securely
wherever they access care.

Enhance
the effective use of electronic health records through initiatives like the
Blue Button initiative.
Medicare beneficiaries can access their full Medicare records online
today. HHS is working with the Veterans Administration and more than 450
different organizations to make health care information available to patients
and health plan members. HHS is also
encouraging Medicare Advantage plans to expand the use of Blue Button to
provide beneficiaries with one-click secure access to their health information.

Implement
Meaningful Use Stage 2:
HHS is implementing rules that define what data must be able to be
exchanged between Health IT systems, including how data will be structured and
coded so that providers will have one uniform way to format and securely send
data.

In its Request For Information (RFI), HHS requested feedback from the public on various
ways to accelerate electronic HIE. One
of the RFI’s focus areas is consumer and patient engagement. According to the RFI, “CMS wants to encourage
beneficiary engagement in their care through improved beneficiary access to
their personal health information and better electronic communication between
beneficiaries and their health care team. There are several ways CMS could
encourage beneficiary access to their information through the use of new
measures or patient-reported care experiences, new technology tools, and new
financial models.” The specific options
that CMS holds out as examples in the RFI are:

Payment and
service delivery model testing under the Affordable Care Act, such as
demonstration of incentives for consumers to more actively participate in
their health; and

Direct access to
lab results from laboratories.

CMS posed the following
specific question in the RFI: “What CMS and ONC policies and programs
would most impact patient access and use of their electronic health information
in the management of their care and health? How should CMS and ONC develop,
refine and/or implement policies and program to maximize beneficiary access to
their health information and engagement in their care?”